Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 44
The trainer seems to be asking, however, for an unusual kind of honesty. It seems that we are
only being honest if we say exactly what is on our minds all the time. Since he sets absolute
honesty as the standard, most people can agree that they are not completely honest, and
therefore might be hiding some kind of .psychic‖ abilities even from themselves.
The Selling of the Illusion
All of the graduates interviewed said that after the intuition exercise, and after a short break, the
trainer discussed the advanced training, in the course of which he stated that the ability of
heightened intuition which the participants had developed would continue to mature even if they
did not take the advanced training. This notion serves to reinforce the value of the basic training.
Then, according to the graduates, the trainer stated that this ability would develop even more
quickly if participants took the advanced training. Thus, the trainer uses the intuition exercise as
part of the ―sales pitch‖ for the advanced training.
One participant said that the person recruiting him for the advanced training asked him to think
back to the basic training and think of the exercise that happened at the end, telling him that
what he would experience in the advanced training would be a hundred times greater. He stated
that what he thought at that moment was that if he were able to ―read somebody's mind‖ at the
end of basic training, then if something was a hundred times greater, he would like to experience
that at any cost.
The same graduate also said in an interview that ―had it not been for the [intuition] exercise,‖ he
would not have signed up for the advanced training.(16)
Conclusion
The convincing effect of the intuition exercise remembered by participants seems to be the result
of increased suggestibility, cold reading, fishing, the use of vague and ambiguous images,
selective memory, and information unwittingly volunteered by the participants. The exercise,
combined with the manipulation leading up to it, and the statement that the heightened
awareness will continue to develop, can lead some participants to believe that they have
experienced ESP and that they will have further psychic experiences outside of the training. These
experiences may seem to be the direct result of the training, and may thereby heighten its
appeal, falsely validate the value of the training, and make the participant more likely to sign up
for advanced courses.
Notes
1. I was asked to serve in these cases by three clients of attorney Peter N. Georgiades, who has
extensive experience in cult-related litigation and who was looking for someone to explain
―confidence games‖ to a jury.
2. Interview with basic training graduate #1.
3. Haaken, Janice and Adams, Richard. ―Pathology as ―Personal Growth‖: A Participant-
Observation Study of Lifespring,‖ Psychiatry, 46, 274.
4. Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. (Simon &Schuster, Inc., 1982), 740.
5. A statement made by the trainer in Los Angeles on July 10, 1985.
6. The exceptions to the statement that knowledge without substantiation is paranormal are not
statements describing sensory information. They are statements of ―truths that we hold to be
self-evident‖ such as ―AR people are created equal.‖ This is a small set of statements, and not
the kind of information that the training implies participants will receive in the intuition
exercise.
7. Interview with basic training graduate #2.
The trainer seems to be asking, however, for an unusual kind of honesty. It seems that we are
only being honest if we say exactly what is on our minds all the time. Since he sets absolute
honesty as the standard, most people can agree that they are not completely honest, and
therefore might be hiding some kind of .psychic‖ abilities even from themselves.
The Selling of the Illusion
All of the graduates interviewed said that after the intuition exercise, and after a short break, the
trainer discussed the advanced training, in the course of which he stated that the ability of
heightened intuition which the participants had developed would continue to mature even if they
did not take the advanced training. This notion serves to reinforce the value of the basic training.
Then, according to the graduates, the trainer stated that this ability would develop even more
quickly if participants took the advanced training. Thus, the trainer uses the intuition exercise as
part of the ―sales pitch‖ for the advanced training.
One participant said that the person recruiting him for the advanced training asked him to think
back to the basic training and think of the exercise that happened at the end, telling him that
what he would experience in the advanced training would be a hundred times greater. He stated
that what he thought at that moment was that if he were able to ―read somebody's mind‖ at the
end of basic training, then if something was a hundred times greater, he would like to experience
that at any cost.
The same graduate also said in an interview that ―had it not been for the [intuition] exercise,‖ he
would not have signed up for the advanced training.(16)
Conclusion
The convincing effect of the intuition exercise remembered by participants seems to be the result
of increased suggestibility, cold reading, fishing, the use of vague and ambiguous images,
selective memory, and information unwittingly volunteered by the participants. The exercise,
combined with the manipulation leading up to it, and the statement that the heightened
awareness will continue to develop, can lead some participants to believe that they have
experienced ESP and that they will have further psychic experiences outside of the training. These
experiences may seem to be the direct result of the training, and may thereby heighten its
appeal, falsely validate the value of the training, and make the participant more likely to sign up
for advanced courses.
Notes
1. I was asked to serve in these cases by three clients of attorney Peter N. Georgiades, who has
extensive experience in cult-related litigation and who was looking for someone to explain
―confidence games‖ to a jury.
2. Interview with basic training graduate #1.
3. Haaken, Janice and Adams, Richard. ―Pathology as ―Personal Growth‖: A Participant-
Observation Study of Lifespring,‖ Psychiatry, 46, 274.
4. Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. (Simon &Schuster, Inc., 1982), 740.
5. A statement made by the trainer in Los Angeles on July 10, 1985.
6. The exceptions to the statement that knowledge without substantiation is paranormal are not
statements describing sensory information. They are statements of ―truths that we hold to be
self-evident‖ such as ―AR people are created equal.‖ This is a small set of statements, and not
the kind of information that the training implies participants will receive in the intuition
exercise.
7. Interview with basic training graduate #2.
